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PORT ANGELES – Jury trials are resuming in Clallam County courts.

Starting this week, jurors were called back into duty. The courts have taken steps to reconfigure facilities and ensure proper distancing in order to bring the trials back.

Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden says a working group from the courts has been working with health officials to ensure safety. He says if you’re called for jury duty things will look different, including where you report.

“So we’ve made an arrangement with the city where we’ve set up the Vern Burton Center as a courtroom, essentially. It allows jurors to come in. They’ll be six feet apart in all directions. We will be able to pick a jury that way and then come back to the courtrooms to actually have the trial. You know people who have any experience with jury duty,  you sit in a two rows, shoulder to shoulder. And as a jury, those days are gone. We’ve reconfigured it so that most of the courtroom will become the jury box.”

The lawyers will operate where the jury box was located, also spread out. Masks will be required, except when testifying. Plexiglass partitions have been added for further protection.

District Court Judge Dave Neupert says his court has smaller juriesand fewer people. But they are still doing things differently, including using multiple courtrooms to keep people distanced.

As for getting called for jury duty, Judge Basden says that’s changed too.

“We’ve altered the jury summons. So, it used to be that if you had a health-related concern you would need a note from a doctor to be excused for jury duty. The new summons that we’ve issued provides an automatic exception for somebody who believes that they or  a member of their family is at risk based upon COVID-19 related concerns, will automatically get excused. They won’t have to wait for permission. And then those jurors will just be renotified or notified of a later jury term of service.”

Since March, jury trials have been on hold. Most court proceedings have been happening via videoconferencing.

Both judges say they think some of the electronic handling of cases that have emerged from the COVDI-19 shutdowns may stay in place. They say there may be ways to use technology better in the future for better public access to the justice system.